Eoin, you got a valid point there. I don't know the exact reasoning behind it, but here's what is said about it in the introduction of the UEFA NT-coefficients in 2008:

To acknowledge the different levels of difficulty encountered in different stages of a competition and to give it a weighting in the calculation, bonus points are awarded to teams for any match in the qualifying competition play-offs and in the final tournaments.The bonus points are calculated on a statistical basis to reflect the actual average increased strength of opponents in the various rounds.

Jeroen, that is true, but then even a bonus of 6000 points is not enough to limit the damage. Regarding the play-offs for EURO 2012: the 4 losers all went down between 400 (EST) and 900 points (MNE) and the 4 winners all went up between 300 (CRO, IRL) to 1700 points (CZE).

The logic behind this is that the 2nd that qualified through play-offs should get a "near-1st" coefficient while the 2nd that failed should get a "near-third". Thus, it may also lessen the effects of an imbalanced draw in the groups (such as the World Cup ones). A runner-up that ends up with two losses in the play-offs would perhaps not end up 2nd in a more difficult group.

Maybe not the most appropriate place to post this, but I just read this in the Dutch press. It talks (in Dutch, sorry) about possibly replacing friendlies with a league system. I haven't checked, but it looks like the UEFA ranking would be used.

The idea of a group with 7 teams has been rejected by UEFA (too many match days are needed). The other are possible, but not as likely as the 8x6 plus 1x5. One advantage of this proposal is that France can be the "6th team" in the group of 5 which will give all the team a chance to play each match day